New Balance is temporarily closing its offices, factories and owned stores in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe from March 16 until at least March 27 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Balance is also indicated it is taking other measures, including travel restrictions and remote work policies, to protect employees as well.

The full statement from Joe Preston, president and CEO, is below.

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New Balance Community,

We hope you and your loved ones are safe during this unprecedented time. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, we are implementing a series of additional measures to ensure the health of our associates, customers, and communities.

These measures include temporary office, factory, and owned store closures in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Effective Monday, March 16, these facilities will remain closed until at least Friday, March 27. All associates in North America will receive their regular pay and benefits during this period.

At this point, NewBalance.com will remain operational, and we will continue to evaluate our operations as the global situation develops. However, we are temporarily suspending our NB1 custom footwear program made at our Lawrence, Massachusetts factory.

While we do not expect significant shipping delays, we ask for your patience while we work hard to ensure that you receive your merchandise in as close to your estimated shipping window as possible.

We must all do our part to help contain the spread of COVID-19.  New Balance has previously enacted precautionary safety measures globally including business travel restrictions and remote work policies that will remain in place until further notice.  We strongly encourage everyone to take all precautionary measures to safeguard their health, and the health of others, as recommended by the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thank you for being part of our New Balance community. We will do everything in our power to welcome you back into our owned stores as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Joe Preston
President and Chief Executive Officer, New Balance

Photo courtesy New Balance